1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to construction support tools. More specifically, the present invention relates to tools that temporarily support one end of a long piece of siding, enabling a single siding installer to measure and to install long pieces of siding.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the housing industry, teams of two installers generally apply siding to a house or other building. This allows each member of the team to measure the proper overlap of siding and then attach the siding to the side of the home. Generally, the length of the siding prevents one person from performing the job alone. If one person could properly attach the siding, productivity would increase.
While products for permanently attaching wall panels exist, (see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,580,3845, a hooking wall panel clip, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,459,790, curtain wall with cross member pins) there is no temporary, detachable support for attaching siding as simple to construct and to use as the present invention. U.S. Pat. No. 5,400,519 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,522,149 disclose two variations of a siding application and gauge tool, however, proper installation of siding using either of these tools requires several steps and the use of two tools for each piece of siding. The present invention is simpler in construction and use, and an installer who uses the present invention to install siding needs only one tool for a proper installation, as described herein.
The present invention is a siding application tool that includes an overlap portion having upper and lower ends, an L-shaped hook portion that forms a generally right-angle hook with the upper end of the overlap portion, an L-shaped retainer portion that forms a generally right-angle retainer with the lower end of the overlap portion, and a plate member that extends from the L-shaped retainer portion that is generally perpendicular to the plane of the overlap portion. The L-shaped hook portion includes an upper bearing surface, and the L-shaped retainer portion includes a lower bearing surface. The upper and lower bearing surfaces are generally parallel with the plate member.
The plate member may optionally include a slot configured to accept the tongue of a tape measure, having a long axis that is generally parallel to the length of the tool, and generally perpendicular to the plane of the overlap portion.